


Operation Make Derek Love Christmas

by tabbytabbytabby



Series: Sterek Prompts [31]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, And always will be, Baking, Christmas, Claudia Stilinski Feels, Derek is a Christmas Baby, Family Feels, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Good Peter Hale, Hale Family Feels, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mentioned Corey Bryant - Freeform, Mentioned Liam, Mentioned Mason Hewitt - Freeform, Mentioned Scott McCall, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, mentioned Cora Hale - Freeform, mentioned Theo Raeken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 21:59:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12803277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: When Stiles discovers Derek hates Christmas he is determined to remind Derek just how special Christmas can be.





	Operation Make Derek Love Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> For [le-shadow-fawkes](https://le-shadow-fawkes.tumblr.com/) on tumblr who wanted the prompt: “I hate everything about Christmas except…”  
> This would up having a lot more feels that I expected but hopefully I still got some of the fluff.  
> This has not been beta read so any mistakes are my own. If you see any please point them out and I'll get them fixed.

Derek used to love Christmas. His Mom always went all out for the holidays, decking out the house with decorations and candles, leaving almost no surface clean. It had been like that as long as he could remember. It wasn’t just Christmas decorations she put up. She mixed in birthday streamers and tablecloths along with all the Christmas stuff, wanting to make sure Derek felt like his birthday was being celebrated as much as Christmas.

It should have been chaotic but it wasn’t. It was perfect. The house was always full, happy laughter filling the rooms, as well as the scent of baked goods always in the air. Derek loved it. As soon as he was old enough he started helping his Mom bake. At first he made more of a mess than anything eatable but he soon got the hang of it, knowing what his Mom needed without her having to ask. Sometimes she would leave him to the cooking and wander into the living room to talk with the family. That said a lot, Talia Hale didn’t trust just anyone in her kitchen.

After the fire Derek never really cared much for Christmas. The first one he and Laura had in New York after was solemn. Laura had tried to make it a good day but Derek could tell how hard it was for her, how much she missed their family. She’d had to excuse herself in the middle of attempting to make cookies, only to return a few minutes later and dump them in the trash. That year they just ordered pizza for dinner, neither of them feeling up for making a big meal when it was only the two of them.

It got a little better, they met a pack that did their best to include them during the holidays. Laura would take part, shooting looks to Derek where he would be sitting by himself. He couldn’t see much reason to celebrate, Christmas or his birthday. He didn’t hold it against Laura that she could. He was happy she was moving on enough to let herself enjoy the holidays again. But she didn’t have that guilt that followed her, screaming at him. Why should he be able to enjoy the holidays when his family was dead and gone because of his poor choices?

Then Laura died and Derek had even less of a reason to want to celebrate. There was no one to try and change his mind anymore. He just hadn’t been prepared for Stiles.

 

Stiles loves Christmas. He always has, or at least that’s what his Dad tells him. He knows he got his love of Christmas from his Mom. The two of them would start decorating the day after Thanksgiving, his Mom saying that Thanksgiving was a holiday and deserved to be celebrated too. Stiles loves decorating for fall but he still prefers Christmas. He likes the old plastic Christmas tree his parents bought for his first Christmas and that he refuses to let his Dad get rid of even if parts of it are starting look a little shabby. He loves the music and the cooking and the way it can bring people together. He just loves it.

Even after his Mom died Stiles wanted to celebrate. His Dad wasn’t up for it much the first year after his Mom died but Stiles convinced Melissa to bring Scott over and the three of them had set up the tree and decorated the house together. His Dad had been shocked when he came home but he only took one look at Stiles’ wide smile and shook his head, deciding to let it go.

John had been the one to drag the tree out the next year, putting it up and allowing Stiles to decorate it any way he wanted. That meant that most of the ornaments were towards the bottom half of the tree since Stiles hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet and couldn’t reach that high up. John had only chuckled, grabbing some of the few remaining ornaments and filling in whatever spaces Stiles directed him.

When Stiles is old enough to use the oven by himself he takes up baking again. He pulls out of one his Mom’s recipe books and bakes some of her favorite peanut butter cookies. They don’t taste as good as she used to make them but it’s something. He keeps at it, practicing whenever possible. He never quite gets it down.

“She made them her own,” his Dad tells him one day, “I don’t know how or what she did. I wish I did son. She just added a little something special. Every time you bake and try something different you’re doing the same thing. You’re making them _yours_. And I think that’s what she would want.”

Stiles feels a little better after that. He still makes his Mom's cookies, but only for the holidays. The rest of the time he starts trying out his own recipes. He uses Scott as his official taste tester, knowing even at a young age that Scott will eat almost anything placed in front of him. That becomes even more true after Scott gets bitten and his appetite increases.

Stiles is so used to loving Christmas and being around people that seem to enjoy it that he just assumes everyone loves it. Well not everyone, he knows there are people out there that don’t. But he hasn’t ever encountered one, at least not that he knows of. And certainly not in his own kitchen.

“I can’t wait until tomorrow,” Stiles says, excitedly taking a bite of his turkey, “tomorrow is going to be awesome.”

“What’s tomorrow?” Derek asks.

Both John and Scott groan from across the table, earning a glare from Stiles. Stiles looks back at Derek, “Tomorrow is only the greatest day ever.”

“Do I want to know why?”

“NO!” Scott and John say.

“Ignore them,” Stiles says, “they just don’t have the holiday spirit. Tomorrow is the day after Thanksgiving.”

Derek looks even more confused and Stiles is tempted to laugh. Except this is serious, “Dude, the day after Thanksgiving is the day I can finally decorate for Christmas!”

“And that’s good?”

John sighs, “Stiles loves Christmas. He goes all out. As soon as Thanksgiving is over he has the tree out and decorations up, Christmas music playing. The only good thing is he bakes _a lot_.”

Stiles points his fork at his Dad, “Yeah and if you’re not careful you won’t be seeing any of those baked goods old man.”

“I still don’t see what the big deal is,” Derek says.

Stiles slowly turns his head to look at Derek, “It’s Christmas! How can you not be excited about Christmas?”

Derek shrugs, “I just don’t like it I guess.”

Stiles gapes, “You don’t… no. No way. I get that you’re grumpy and dislike most things but it’s _Christmas_ Derek.”

Derek shrugs but Stiles can see the faraway look in his eyes. He knows better than to push, at least right now. So he lets it go, starting up a conversation with his Dad about baseball. His eyes keep drifting back to Derek, a sense of understanding settling over him. He thinks he gets it but he needs to be sure. Since he won’t be getting answers from Derek he’ll just have to go somewhere else.

The next day Stiles shows up at Peter’s apartment. Peter answers the door, not looking the least bit surprised to see him.

“Why doesn’t Derek like Christmas?” Stiles asks, getting right to the point as he pushes his way into the apartment.

“Well hello to you too, Stiles,” Peter says, closing the door and turning to face him.

“Hello Peter. Why doesn’t Derek like Christmas?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking Derek this?” Peter asks.

Stiles sighs, “We both know he won’t tell me. I just figured if anyone would know, it’s you. You two are family,” Stiles rubs the back of his neck nervously, “is that why he hates it? Because of what happened?”

Stiles can’t imagine. He knows his Dad didn’t truly enjoy the holidays’ for years after his Mom died, despite the fake holiday cheer he put on for Stiles’ sake. Derek had lost so much more and had the guilt on top of it. Peter not saying anything is answer enough.

“So did he ever like Christmas?”

“He used to love Christmas,” Peter tells him, “Talia loved it. I remember Talia and I used to bake with our mother, and then Talia kept the tradition with Derek and Laura. Derek more so than Laura.”

“I used to bake with my Mom too,” Stiles quietly says.

“You really should talk to Derek about this,” Peter says, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“Like I said, he won’t tell me. But that’s fine because I have a plan.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to ask this, but do I want to know what that plan is?”

Stiles grins, “I’m going to make Derek love Christmas again.”

 

Derek just stares when Stiles shows up at his house a few days later, arms filled with bags and boxes. Derek takes a few, warily peering inside, “What is all this?”

“Decorations!” Stiles says, stumbling a bit in his excitement to get inside the house. He walks into the living room, sitting the boxes down next to the coffee table and turns to Derek with a grin, “We’re going to decorate.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Because you love me and want to see me happy?” When Derek just raises an unimpressed eyebrow Stiles rolls his eyes, “fine, because you want to see the pack happy. I just happen to be part of said pack. Come on, Der. You have the biggest house out of anyone. You even called it the pack house…”

“You’re the one that did that.”

Stiles ignores him, continuing with his speech, “Since you are one of the two Alpha’s we have and you have the biggest house you should be the one to host our pack Christmas party.”

“Stiles you know I don’t like Christmas,” Derek says, crossing his arms, “why would you want someone who hates Christmas to host a Christmas party?”

Stiles’ face softens, “Because being around people that care about you in this house you built for them might just make you see the magic of Christmas again. I’ll make you a deal. If, after all of this, you still hate Christmas I promise not to ask you to host Christmas again.”

Derek studies his face for a moment before he sighs, head looking towards the ceiling, probably wondering what exactly he’s getting into. “Fine. You can host Christmas here.”

“No,” Stiles says, “ _We_ will host Christmas.”

Derek doesn’t bother to argue, choosing to gesture towards the boxes instead, “What exactly do you have in there?”

“Well this is the best part,” Stiles says, opening up one of the boxes, “I figured since it’s pack Christmas we could all chip in some decorations. So this box is from Dad and I, that one there is Scott and Melissa, Lydia has one there,” he points to one of the boxes by Derek’s feet, “Liam, Theo, Mason, and Corey all put in stuff together. Argent gave some stuff. And…”

Stiles walks over and picks up one of the boxes, gesturing for Derek to sit on the couch before sitting down next to him. He places the box in front of them on the floor, giving a hesitant looks towards Derek, “This one is from Peter.”

Derek feels his breath catch in his throat, “You mean…”

“Apparently your Mom ran out of room for everything at your house and had to store some stuff elsewhere,” Stiles tells him, “It’s not a lot. Not near as much as he said you used to have. But I still thought that if you wanted it…”

Derek runs his hand along the top of the box, wondering what pieces of his life could be in here before looking over at Stiles. He notices Stiles’ hesitation and squeezes his hand, giving him a small smile, “This is more than I ever could have hoped for. Thank you.”

“You haven’t even opened it yet,” Stiles smiles, “I could leave if you want to do it alone.”

Derek shakes his head, “No it’s fine. It’s… I want you to be here.”

They open the box together, before Derek takes a deep breath and looks inside. The first thing he pulls out is an ornament. Just that is enough to make him close his eyes as he gently cradles it in his hands. It’s one of his, a simple wolf with his name on it, age 6 written below it in his Mom’s fine print. Stiles shuffles closer, his presence calming enough for Derek to put the ornament aside and pick up a different one.

They spend most of the afternoon like that, Derek taking various ornaments out of the box, sometimes explaining what they are to Stiles or telling stories about them. It’s easier after the first one, he even finds himself smiling as he talks. At least until he reaches the star.

He doesn’t realize he’s crying until he feels Stiles’ hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles through the fabric of his shirt.

“This has been in my family for years,” Derek tells him, “my Mom would always tell us it was made of magic, that it survived through so many generations of our family and would be here long after we were. It’s a small thing but...”

“If it’s important to you then it’s important,” Stiles says, “no matter how small it may seem. I still have the Christmas tree my parents bought for my first Christmas because I know how much my Mom loved it. Even though it’s getting a little worn down I haven’t been able to get a new one. We hold onto what we can.”

Derek nods, finding himself curling into Stiles until his head is resting against his side, “Thank you.”

“No problem big guy,” Stiles wraps his arm more fully around Derek, allowing him to settle more comfortably against him.

“Stiles,” Derek says after a few minutes of silence, “we have all these ornaments but do we have a tree.”

“I thought we could go pick one out,” Stiles says, voice slightly hesitant, “start fresh.”

“Yeah okay,” Derek says, “we can do that.”

Stiles smiles. Looks like operation make Derek love Christmas again was off to a good start.

 

“Christmas was Mom’s favorite holiday,” Derek tells Stiles a week later.

It was easier than Stiles thought it would be to get Derek to open up and actively participate in preparing for Christmas. Once Derek had seen the decorations something must have snapped. He didn’t seem to be enjoying himself necessarily but he wasn’t complaining as much, and even seemed to smile more.

“Mine too,” Stiles says, “She went all out. Decorations everywhere, music, baking, everything.”

“She sounds like my Mom,” Derek says, smiling over at Stiles, “there was hardly an inch of the house that didn’t have some form of decoration on it. Whether it was these little Christmas villages she liked, candles, tablecloths, anything she saw that was Christmas that she liked she would buy it.”

“Oh yeah they definitely would have gotten along then,” Stiles smiles, “Mom had this giant mouse that she would decorate in different outfits for different holidays. We still have it but Dad put his foot down with that and now it’s in the garage.”

“You could bring it here if you’d like,” Derek says.

“Really?” Stiles asks, his eyes wide and hopeful.

“Sure,” Derek shrugs, “we have room here.”

Stiles feels his stomach swoop at Derek’s easy use of the word we.

He enlists Derek’s help to help him dig it out of the garage. They have a lot of stuff, some of it even Stiles has to wonder _why_ it’s still there.

When Stiles turns around at one point and sees his Dad watching from the doorway he points an accusing finger at him, “ _You!_ We are going to be having a serious talk about getting rid of some of this. There’s clothes in here of yours from like the 70’s.”

John walks closer and peers into the box, pulling out one of the items with a wide grin, “I remember this! This was my favorite jacket as a teenager. I can’t get rid of this.”

Stiles stares at him, “Dad… it has _holes_ in it.”

“So do some of your clothes and you call them fashionable.”

Stiles rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything.

John is silent for a moment, staring down at the jacket as he runs a hand along the fabric, “I wore this when I met your Mom. When we went on our first date she got cold and I let her wear it. I didn’t see it much after that. I haven’t let myself keep a lot of things...”

“I know,” Stiles says, “if you’re keeping it you should at least bring it inside, dust it off or something.”

John nods, starting to walk back towards the door before Stiles calls after him, “You’re getting rid of some of these shirts though!”

“Only if you get rid of some of those old toys you haven’t played with in years.”

“Fine,” Stiles mutters before an idea occurs to him, “hey Dad? You don’t know where that mouse Mom used to decorate is, do you?”

“I remember putting it out here,” John says, “try that big box in the corner.”

Stiles lets out an excited yell when he finds the mouse in the box along with all the outfits. Derek peers at it curiously, “I really don’t understand the purpose of a giant mouse.”

“Honestly, me either,” Stiles grins, “but it’s apparently a tradition. My grandma had it and gave it to my Mom. I’m not sure if she actually liked it but she never put it away. And it’s… familiar.”

Derek nods, “Alright well, let’s get it out of here. It might need to be cleaned off.”

Derek has to admit that the mouse doesn’t look as out of place as he originally thought, not once it's all decked out in it’s Christmas sweater. He might even keep it up after Christmas, especially if it makes Stiles smile the way that he is now.

 

The closer it gets to Christmas the more excited Stiles gets. He has so many plans, not just for Derek but he’s working on a surprise for Peter as well. Derek had let it slip that Peter used to sing White Christmas every Christmas while his wife would play the piano. Stiles enlists the help of an extremely reluctant Malia to help him out.

“I don’t even know how to play the piano,” Malia complains, “and it’s not like Peter and I are close.”

“It’s one song,” Stiles says, “and it’s not even a long song. Peter’s been working on things and he’s trying with you right? I’m not saying you have to start calling him Dad or anything. Can’t you just try to do this one thing? If not for him then for me?

“Fine. But you better bake me my favorite cookies for Christmas.”

Stiles grins, “Deal.”

So, Malia starts learning how to play the piano with the help of Cora. Cora apparently learned how to play when she was in South America and was amazing at it. She’s also surprisingly patient with Malia, calming her down whenever she messes up and tries to throw the piano out the window.

All in all Stiles thinks his plans are going great. He even has all of his presents bought, including Derek’s. The only problem is, he’s been spending so much time with Derek and trying to get him to love Christmas again that he hasn’t had much time for baking. He decides to take advantage of Derek’s big kitchen and try out some new recipes.

He has a key, one that Derek actually _gave_ him months ago, telling Stiles he was always welcome. Stiles uses it more than Derek probably intended, spending most of his days and nights at Derek’s. He’s practically moved into the bedroom right next to Derek’s.

But he likes it. He likes waking up and knowing that Derek is somewhere in the house, most likely drinking coffee and reading one of his favorite books. It’s comforting that after everything they can have these peaceful moments. Derek always greets him with a smile, never once showing signs that he thinks Stiles has overstayed his welcome.

So Stiles takes over the kitchen. Derek’s at work and he has plenty of time to get some quality baking time in before he gets home. At least that’s what he thinks. Derek walks in a while later to see his kitchen in chaos and Stiles right in the middle of it.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Derek asks from the entryway to the kitchen, “Why is my kitchen covered in flour and… is that peanut butter?”

“I’m baking!” Stiles says, “I didn’t think you’d be home yet.”

“So you decided to sneak in and use my kitchen without me here?”

Stiles’ hand stills as he looks from the bowl in his hand to Derek a few times before settling on Derek, “I guess so. I just… I’ve been here so much. I didn’t think… I just usually bake a lot before Christmas and I haven’t had a chance. I’m sorry if I intruded.”

Derek puts his things down before walking into the kitchen and peering into the bowl that Stiles was stirring, “What are you making?”

“Chocolate peanut butter brownies,” Stiles says, “I made some pumpkin bread too.”

“Do you always bake this much?”

Stiles shrugs, “Mom loved to bake and I always helped her. As soon as I was able to do it on my own I started baking different things. At first it was her recipes but recently I’ve been trying to do my own.”

Stiles sees Derek eyeing the pumpkin bread and laughs, holding out the plate for him to take a piece. Stiles tries not to react when Derek takes a bite of the pumpkin bread, moaning and closing his eyes, “God this is amazing.”

Stiles clears his throat, feeling himself blush, and tries to busy himself so he’s not thinking about the fact that something he made made Derek sound like that, “Glad you like it.”

“Not just like it, I love it,” when Derek speaks he’s much closer, “do you need any help?”

Stiles glances over at him, “Sure, if you want to.”

Derek grabs an apron and puts it on, rolling his eyes at Stiles when he catches him laughing “Not all of us want to get our clothes dirty.”

“Of course not,” Stiles reads the apron and smirks, surprised when he finds himself stepping closer to Derek, “Kiss the cook huh? Does that apply to everyone?”

“Only certain people,” Derek says, stepping into Stiles’ space, “I don’t wear this around just anyone. In fact, you’re the only one that’s seen me in it.”

Stiles feels his heart speed up. He knows what he wants, what he’s wanted for a while. What is sounds like Derek is implying. But if he gets this wrong… “Derek, if you’re serious…”

“I am,” Derek puts his hands on Stiles’ hips, “if you are.”

Stiles leans in and kisses him, lips moving hesitantly at first, still unsure if he’s welcome. But then Derek is moving his hands around his back and pulling him closer and Stiles loses all hesitation. He moves a hand to the back of Derek’s neck, needing him to be closer. Derek seems to agree, deepening the kiss and pushing Stiles back against the counter. Stiles goes to get on top of it and then…

There’s a crash as the bowl of brownie batter Stiles had been stirring falls to the floor, some of it splashing up to cover both of their legs. Stiles looks down at the mess and then up to Derek’s face, laughing at the shocked expression on his face, “So much for not getting your clothes dirty. Guess you’ll just have to take those pants off.”

Derek leans in, speaking low into Stiles’ ear, “I’m going to take my pants off alright. But _you_ are going to clean all of this up.”

He pulls back with a smirk, laughing all the way upstairs at Stiles’ outraged cry. Stiles can’t even be mad though, not when he’d finally found out what it’s like to kiss Derek.

“We’re going to do this again!” Stiles yells, knowing full well Derek can hear him.

He gets a text a minute later of Derek’s bare leg, “My pants aren’t the only ones that need to come off.”

Stiles stumbles his way upstairs and into the bathroom. The mess could wait.

 

Christmas is everything Stiles could have hoped for and more. The house is full of friends and family, happy chatter heard from all over the house. Stiles and Derek spend a lot of Christmas Eve baking, and then most of Christmas afternoon cooking. Stiles and Derek are in charge of the ham, Stiles having passed off the other food to different members of the pack, including making sure Derek’s birthday cake got to the house.

Stiles had snuck downstairs while Derek was sleeping and put a few decorations up for Derek’s birthday. He knew Derek didn’t want anything big done but Stiles had to do something for his birthday. So he decorated, as well as baking a cake at Melissa’s, entrusting her to bring the cake.

She doesn’t let him down, arriving with her arms full of presents before sneaking back out the car to get the cake. Derek offers to help but she shoos him away. Stiles takes that opportunity to lead Derek away, wanting to keep him distracted until Melissa comes back inside with the cake. Derek looks surprised but pleased when he sees what she has, thanking her.

“Don’t thank me, thank Stiles,” She says, “he’s the one that hijacked my kitchen in order to make this for you.”

Derek turns to Stiles, “You did this?”

Stiles shrugs, giving Derek a soft smile, “Happy Birthday Der.”

Derek seems at a loss for words so he does the only thing he can think of, leaning in and kissing Stiles. They pull back with matching smiles on their faces.

They eat and then gather in the living room to exchange presents. It’s then that Stiles goes ahead with his plan for Peter.

“Derek tells me you used to sing White Christmas every Christmas,” Stiles says.

Peter looks between him and Derek, “Did he now?”

“He did. Want to give it a go? Or do you think you’ve lost your ability to carry a tune.”

“I can sing just fine thank you. But I can’t play the piano. So unless you have someone…”

“I can do it,” Malia says, moving over towards the piano Derek had brought in a few weeks ago.

Peter looks surprised, “You can play the piano? Since when?”

“A few weeks ago,” Malia says, “so are we going to do this or not?”

Peter looks hesitant but then he’s stepping up to the piano. Stiles isn’t sure what to expect. Derek had said Peter could sing but he wasn’t expecting him to be as good as he is. His voice is low, soothing, capturing the attention of everyone in the room. Even Malia seems to be enjoying herself as she plays.

Stiles slips under Derek’s arm, snuggling further into the warmth of the Christmas sweater he’s wearing. On it is a black with in a Christmas sweater with ‘ _Happy Howlidays’_ written on it. Derek had rolled his eyes when he saw it but quickly switched out the sweater he had on for his new one.

Stiles looks up at Derek to see him already looking down at him, a fond smile on his face, “So do you still hate Christmas?”

“I hate everything about Christmas except…” Derek leans down, placing a soft kiss to Stiles’ lips. “spending it with you,”

Stiles grins up at him, “You’re such a sap.”

“I’m your sap.”

Stiles laughs and tries to get out of his grasp, struggling when Derek doesn’t let him go, “Oh God stop.”

Derek chuckles, placing a kiss to Stiles’ cheek, “Why would I stop when I know you secretly love it?”

“I love you,” Stiles tells him, “your sappiness is just included in that.”

“I love you too,” Derek says, sighing when Stiles wraps his arms back around him, “thank you for doing this.”

“Of course,” Stiles says, “so about that deal…”

“We can host Christmas again next year.”

Stiles grins, “I knew I could get you to come around.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/Comments make my day <3  
> I skipped right past the Thanksgiving fic to a Christmas one, but Thanksgiving does happen in here at least.  
> Currently taking prompts for Sterek and/or Thiam from [this list](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/post/167494209818/prompt-list) or any other prompts


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